Cigarette holder



March 1, 1955 B. R. MGCREADY CIGARETTE HOLDER Filed May 28, 1949 M1 2 Ta 7 a m m 2 4 M wk I 7 4 a. a M a W .4. 5 F

BY 5 M 7 ATTUR/VIYS' slightly larger in diameter than a cigarette.

United States Patent CIGARETTE HOLDER Byron R. 'McCready, Garden City,Mich.

Application May 28, 1949, Serial No. 96,105

' 7 Claims. (Cl. 131-175) This invention relates to a cigarette holder.

It is an object of this invention to produce a cigarette holder which isconstructed so as to give a smoke which is very mild and which has theflavor produced by burning freshly roasted tobacco.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of acigarette holder which has a very attractive appearance and which isprovided with a bowl which automatically collects the ashes as thecigarette burns.

It is a'further object of the invention to produce a cigarette holderhaving a bowl which substantially encloses the burning end of thecigarette so that the dangers of flying sparks, lighted ashes, and thelike usually encountered in smoking cigarettes are eliminated in theholder of my design. The provision of a bowl which substantiallyencloses the burning end of the cigarette also permits the cigarette tobe left unattended without any vdanger of causing a fire.

*In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view'of my cigarette holder.Figure 2 is a perspective view of -my cigarette holder with the bowl inthe opened condition and with parts broken away to show the cigarettefeeding means inthe stem.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 3-3 inFigure 1.

construction.

Referring to the drawings, the holder comprises a stem .10 having a bit11 at one end and a bowl 12 at theother end. Stem comprises a tubularbody 13 which is The bit 11 has at one end a mouth piece'portion 14having an end whichis adapted to be gripped between the smokers teethand a cylindrical portion 15 at the other end s'lidably arranged withinthe body 13 of stem 10. At its enclosed endthe bit 11 is provided with acup member 16 which has a bearing contact with the inner surface of body13 and which is adapted to receive one end of cigarette 17 so that whenthe bit is moved axially within stem 10 the cigarette moves with it.'Cup member 16 has a larger external diameter than cylindrical portion15.-

A passage 18 extends through the bit 11 from mouth piece portion 14 to acup 16 so that when the smoker draws on the mouthpiece he may drawthrough the cigarette. A light coil compression spring 19 is arranged inthe stem 10 in the clearance space between body 13 and the outer surfaceof'the cylindrical portion 15. A spring 19 has one end bearing against acollar 20 inserted in one end of body 13 and has its other end actingagainst the closed end of cup 16. This arrangement tends toautomatically feed the cigarette into the bowl 12 as the cigaretteburns.

Bowl 12 is preferably formed as two substantially spherical halfsections 22 and 23 which are hinged together as at 24 so that when theupper section 22 is pivoted to the closed position the burning end ofthe cigarette is substantially enclosed by the bowl. The bowl may, ifdesired, be provided with a shape other than spherical. The bowl 12 ispreferably formed of a material which conducts heat readily suchasaluminum, brass, or the like and is dimensioned such that the heatgenerated by the burning end of the cigarette maintains the bowlrelatively hot.

2,703,090 Patented Mar. 1, 1955 At itsend opposite the bit 11 the body13 is cut away as at 25 around at least the'upper half of the body sothat when the top section 22 of the bowl is pivoted to the openedposition shown in Figure 2 the cigarette may be grasped by the fingersin order to insert it within the cup 16 of the bit 11. A ribbed portion26 around the lower half of body 13 forms a connection between bowl 1-2and body 13. This connecting portion is perforated or otherwiseapertured as at 27 as seen in Fig. 4, so as to ventilate the cigaretteat this point and at the same time prevent the conduction of too muchheat from bowl 12 to the body portion 13 of the stem. The connectingportion 26 extends int-o the bottom section 23 of bowl 1'2 and providesa semi-cylindrical seat 28 for the end of the cigarette within the bowl.The top portion 22 of the bowl 12 has secured thereto a semi-cylindricalcage 30 which when the top section 22 is pivoted to the closed conditioncooperates with the connecting portion 26 of the stem to provide asubstantially open grill work around that portion of the cigaretteextending between body 13 and bowl 12. At its free end the cage 30 isfashioned with a pair of arcuately shaped resilient fingers 31 whichsnap overbody 13 and retain the top section 22 in the closed position.At its opposite end the cage 30 is provided with an imperforate collar32 which cooperates with theseat member 28 at the corresponding end ofconnecting portion 26 to form a continuous collar of substantial widtharound a portion of the cigarette within the bowl.

In order to promote burning-of the cigarette, the bottom 23 of the bowlis provided with a plurality of apertures 33, 34, and -35. Theseapertures as is shown in Figures 3 and 4, are positioned adjacent theseat 28 so that the air which is drawn in through these apertures comesinto direct contact with the seat 23 and thereby is heated before itcomes into contact with the hot smoke in the bowl. When the-smoker isnot drawing through the cigarette, it burns more slowly and the smokefrom the burning end vof the cigarette is exhausted through a largerport 36 located centrally of the bowl in the top section 22. It will beseen thatthe apertures 33, 34, and 35 cooperatewith the exhaust'port 36to provide a natural draft upwardly through the bowl so that thecigarette continues to-burn slowly even though a draft isnot drawnthrough the cigarette through passage 18. A generally circular springclip 38 .having a pair of opposed fingers 39 is frictionally retainedwithin bottom 23 with the fingers 39 spaced apart and engaging theburning end of the cigarette so as to position it preferably atapproximately the center of the bowl. Fingers 39 serve as stops againstwhich the burning end of the cigarette is held by the pressure of spring19. Said clip 38 is fashioned so as to be removable from the bottom 23to facilitate cleaning the bowl when necessary.

When the bowl is formed with a spherical shape as shown it is preferablyprovided with small legs 49 which enable positioning the holder uprighton a flat surface such as a tabletop or the like. Legs 40 also preventthe hot bowl from burning or scorching the surface on which it may bepositioned.

When it is desired to insert a cigarette in my holder, spring fingers 31are snapped upwardly from around the body 13 and the top section 22 ofthe bowl is pivoted to the opened position shown 'in Figure 2. Acigarette is then inserted within the body 13 with one end engaged bythe fingers 39 of clip 38. The cigarette is then grasped as at the cutaway portion 25, and .the bit 11 is pushed in a direction inwardly ofthe stem so as to engage the other end of the cigarette within the cup16. The top section 22 is then pivoted to the closed position and thecigarette is ready for smoking. The tobacco may be ignited by holding alighted match over the exhaust port 36 and drawing inwardly on the bitso as to produce a draft through the cigarette and the passage 18 in thebit. As the cigarette burns the ashes fall into the bottom section 23 ofthe bowl and the spring 19 urges the cup 16 in a direction towards thebowl so as .to progressively feed the cigarette into the bowl with theburning end of the cigarette engaged and positioned by the fingers 3.9of the clip 38. A depending flange 41 around the exhaust port 36 tendsto prevent the ashes and burning cinders from falling out of port 36 ifthe bowl is accidentally inverted.

It will be observed that the bowl 12 is substantially enclosed andtherefore becomes relatively hot as the cigarette burns. I have foundthat for the best operation of my cigarette holder it is essential thatthe bowl be maintained relatively hot.

It is desirable to maintain bowl 12 relatively hot when the cigarette isburning for several reasons. In the first place, a more complete burningof the tobacco is elfected, but even more important is the fact that ifthe bowl is maintained at a relatively high temperature, the moisture,tars, resins, and nicotine in the smoke will not be condensed on theinner surface of the bowl as they pass from the cigarette out throughthe exhaust port 36. If the bowl is too large or is maintained at arelatively low temperature for other reasons, then objectionablecondensation occurs which not only imparts a foul odor to the cigaretteholder and the smoke, but also cakes up 011 the inner surface of thebowl. I have also found that by maintaining the interior of the bowl ata relatively high temperature the flavor of the smoke is greatlyimproved and resembles the flavor imparted to smoke by burning freshlyroasted tobacco. I believe this may be due to the fact that the tobaccowithin the bowl just to the rear of the burning end of the cigarette isheated to a roasting temperature.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the temperature of the smokedrawn through the cigarette would be normally higher than with cigaretteholders of conventional design. However, as the hot smoke drawn throughthe cigarette passes the zone surrounded by the open grill work providedby cage 30 and the connecting portion 26, it is rapidly cooled. This notonly cools the smoke which the smoker eventually draws into his mouththrough passage 18 but also condenses a substantial portion of themoisture, tars, resins, nicotine, and etc. in the smoke. Thiscondensation within the cigarette is very marked. The cigarette paper iswetted to a brownish color around this portion of the cigarette andespecially at the edge of the bowl.

The seat 28 and the collar 32 which surround the cigarette as it entersthe bowl serve not only to transmit heat to the tobacco at this pointbut also act to prevent burning of the tobacco and the cigarette paperbeyond this point and thereby promote complete burning of the tobacco atthe end of the cigarette within the bowl. The seat 28 also serves toheat the air entering the bowl through the vents 33, 34, and 35 so thatthis relatively cool air will not come in direct contact with the warmsmoke and produce condensation.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a cigarette holder whichpermits smoking in a convenient manner and at the same time possessessafety features not found in other cigarette holders with which I amfamiliar. The provision of a substantially enclosed bowl also eliminatesthe danger of flying lighted ashes or cigarette cinders which isencountered with cigarette holders of conventional design. It will benoted in addition that if the cigarette holder with a lighted cigarettetherein is placed into a confined space such as a pocket or a purse, thesupply of air thereto for combustion will be cut off and the burning endof the cigarette will be smothered. In any event, the seat 28 and thecollar 32 prevent burning of a cigarette beyond a minimum predeterminedlength so that if the lighted cigarette is left unattended or the holderis accidentally dropped such as by a person smoking in bed, thecigarette will burn down to a butt of predetermined length and then willbe automatically extinguished. This minimum length is determined by thedistance between cup 16 and seat 28 when the enlarged portion of bit 14abuts against collar 20.

Although the provision of a substantially enclosed bowl produces what Ibelieve to be the better smoke, I have found that a relatively flavorfuland cool smoke is also obtained when the bowl is not substantiallyclosed and even when a bowl member is entirely omitted. The holder mayif desired be constructed with only the lower section 23 of the bowl inwhich case the bowl serves merely to collect the ashes which fall offthe burning end of the cigarette. Or if desired the bowl may be omittedentirely as is shown in Figure 5. In this holder of modifiedconstruction the stem 42 is constructed substantially the same as theholder stem shown in Figure 2. The fingers 43 which engage the burningend of the cigarette are fashioned as a removable cap member 44 which isarranged to slip over an imperforate collar 45 at the end of the stem.The collar 45 surrounds the end portion of the cigarette and is spacedfrom the body of stem 42 by the open grill work 46.

I claim:

1. In a smoking device such as a cigarette holder of the type having ahollow tubular stern in which a cigarette is adapted to be positionedand advanced towards one end of the stem as a cigarette burns andthereby shortens in length, a hollow bowl at said end of said stem, saidbowl being of generally regular shape and having an internal dimensionsubstantially greater than the transverse dimension of said tubularstern, means within said bowl forming a stop for positioning the burningend of a cigarette within the bowl as the cigarette is advanced in saidstem, said means being arranged to maintain the burning end of acigarette in a predetermined position within said bowl spaced from thewalls of the bowl, said bowl being divided into an upper half sectionand a lower half section pivotally connected together and cooperatingwhen juxtaposed to form a generally closed bowl at the end of said stem,said upper and lower bowl sections having apertures therein, theaperture in the upper bowl section being located directly above theburning end of a cigarette positioned within said bowl, the remainingportion of the wall of said upper bowl section being imperforate, theapertures in the lower bowl section being offset from the portion of thewall of said lower bowl section directly below the burning end of acigarette positioned within said bowl, the area of the aperture in saidupper bowl section being substantially greater than the area of theapertures in said lower bowl section.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said stem and bowl areprovided around their line of connection with an internal collar alignedcoaxially with said stem, said collar being dimensioned tocircumferentially engage the outer surface of a cigarette positionedwithin said stem, said collar extending inwardly of said bowl toward themouthpiece and said apertures in said lower bowl section being disposedclosely adjacent and below the lower portion of said collar.

3. In a smoking device such as a cigarette holder of the type having ahollow tubular stem in which a cigarette is adapted to be positioned andadvanced towards one end of the stem as a cigarette burns and therebyshortens in length, a hollow bowl at said end of said stem, said bowlbeing of generally regular shape and having an internal dimensionsubstantially greater than the transverse dimension of said tubularstern, means within said bowl forming a stop for positioning the burningend of a cigarette within the bowl as the cigarette is advanced in saidstem, said means being arranged to maintain the burning end of acigarette in a predetermined position within said bowl spaced from thewalls of the bowl, said bowl being divided into an upper half sectionand a lower half section pivotally connected together and cooperatingwhen juxtaposed to form a generally closed bowl at the end of said stem,said upper and lower bowl sections having apertures therein, theaperture in the upper bowl section being located directly above theburning end of a cigarette positioned within said bowl, the remainingportion of the wall of said upper bowl section being imperforate, theapertures in the lower bowl section being offset from the portion of thewall of said lower bowl section directly below the burning end of acigarette positioned within said bowl, the area of the aperture in saidupper bowl section being substantially greater than the area of theapertures in said lower bowl section, said body being generally circularin horizontal section, said means for positioning the burning end of acigarette in said bowl comprising a resilient metal strip shaped intothe form of a segment of a ring having a diameter correspondinggenerally to the largest diameter of said bowl, said ring beinghorizontally disposed and frictionally engaged with the inner surface ofthe wall of said lower bowl section, said ring segment having at theends thereof a pair of fingers extending inwardly towards the center ofthe bowl and against which the burning end of a cigarette is arranged toabut when advanced axially through said stem in the direction of saidbowl.

4. In a smoking device such as a cigarette holder of a type having ahollow tubular stem in which a cigarette is adapted to be positioned andadvanced towards one end of the stem as a cigarette burns and therebyshortens in length, a hollow bowl at said end of the stern, said bowlbeing generally circular in cross section and being apertured to admitair to the burning end of the cigarette and means Within said bowlforming a stop for positioning the burning end of a cigarette within thebowl as the cigarette is advanced in said stem comprising a resilientmetal strip shaped into the form of a segment of a ring having adiameter corresponding generally to the largest diameter of said bowl,said ring being horizontally disposed and frictionally engaged with theinner surface of the wall of said bowl, said ring segment having at theends thereof a pair of fingers extending inwardly towards the center ofthe bowl and against which the burning end of a cigarette is arranged toabut when advanced axially through said stem in the direction of saidbowl.

5. In a smoking device such as a cigarette holder of the type having ahollow tubular stem in which a cigarette is adapted to be positioned andadvanced towards one end of the stem as a cigarette burns and therebyshortens in length, a hollow bowl at said end of said stem, said bowlcomprising two portions substantially corresponding in shape and havingan internal dimension substantially greater than the transversedimension of said tubular stern, means within said bowl forming a stopfor positioning the burning end of a cigarette within the bowl as thecigarette is advanced in said stem, said means being arranged tomaintain the burning end of a cigarette in a predetermined positionwithin said bowl spaced from the walls of the bowl and from the end ofsaid stem, said bowl and stem being provided around their line ofconnection with an internal collar aligned co-axially with said stem,said collar being dimensioned to circumferentially engage the outersurface of a cigarette disposed within said stem around a portionthereof spaced axially inwardly from said stop to provide a tobaccoburning zone at the end of the cigarette of relatively short length ascompared with the length of the cigarette, said collar extendinginwardly of said bowl and said bowl toward the mouthpiece being providedwith apertures at least some of which are disposed below and adjacentsaid collar for directing streams of air against said collar.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein said bowl is providedwith an aperture disposed above the burning end of the cigarettepositioned within said stem, said last mentioned aperture beingrelatively large as compared with the apertures provided for directingstreams of air against said collar.

7. The combination called for in claim 6 including a depending flangewithin said bowl extending circumferentially around said relativelylarge aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS182,821 Heald Oct. 3, 1876 265,571 Bushnell Oct. 10, 1882 1,281,589Kummeth Oct. 15, 1918 1,635,432 Pervier July 12, 1927 1,733,212 WenecekOct. 29, 1929 2,073,596 Martin Mar. 9, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,307 GreatBritain 1893 427,270 Great Britain Apr. 18, 1935 443,299 France Sept.20, 1912

